Many of us are familiar with such a symptom as a cough. It can be dry and with sputum discharge, painful “barking” and in the form of “coughing”, episodic and constant. And almost every one of us, when it appears, rushes to the pharmacy for a “cough suppressant” pill, which does not always help.
But let’s think a little and figure out what a cough is and what diseases it can tell us about.
Cough is a symptom of many diseases of the respiratory tract and lungs. It occurs as a result of irritation of the corresponding receptors by inflammatory, mechanical, chemical and temperature factors.
Inflammatory processes include the processes occurring in the respiratory tract and lung tissue during laryngitis, tracheitis, bronchiolitis, pneumonia and abscess. Mechanical causes from inhalation of dust or compression of the airways (lung tumor, foreign body, granuloma, bronchospasm). Chemical by inhalation of irritating vapors, fumes, including cigarette smoke. Thermal refers to the inhalation of cold or hot air.
The short duration of the disease, combined with an increase in temperature, suggests a viral or bacterial infection. Runoff of mucus down the back of the throat (for example, with chronic sinusitis) is a common cause of chronic cough. Changes in the nature of sputum, its color or the volume of secretions in a smoker with a “smoker’s cough” requires study. Occupationally unfavorable factors are characteristic of occupational asthma or inflammatory lesions of the lungs. Repeated pneumonia may indicate blockage of areas of the bronchi, especially in combination with copious sputum, especially purulent. A change in the nature of chronic cough when smoking cigarettes makes it possible to suspect bronchogenic lung cancer.
You also need to remember that cough has complications. These include fainting, ruptured lung tissue, and even broken ribs.
Elimination of cough requires treatment of the underlying disease. A productive cough with a significant amount of sputum discharge should not be completely suppressed.
From all of the above, the conclusion suggests itself – you can’t just take the first drug that comes across, just because it helped a neighbor, work colleague or you in the past. There are many diseases of the respiratory tract https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respiratory_disease and lungs, and the approach to treatment in different cases is fundamentally different. Therefore, when a cough appears, it is necessary to consult a doctor for diagnosis and selection of individual therapy. Also, one should not forget about such a simple and routine research method as fluorography, which each person must undergo once a year. Often it is she who allows you to identify at the initial stage such diseases as a tumor, tuberculosis, occupational lung damage.
